Blog Assignment: Research Around the World

http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

Early Childhood Australia is stated to be comparable to NAEYC (Walden University, 2013).

This website provided a variety of information. There are themed research items titled: Belonging, Being and Becoming; School readiness and children’s transitions; Sustainability, global warming and climate change; Baby and toddler sleeping, Child health and childhood obesity (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/).

Driven by my research subtopic (What aspects of teacher-child interactions cause immediate and visible emotional stress in children?), I am searching first clarify what emotions are easy to identify and at what age might these emotions be visible. Also what is emotional stress and how is it easily identified in the preschool setting? In an excerpt from their newsletter it explains that “basic emotions—including happiness, interest, surprise, fear, anger and sadness—are almost all present in early infancy” (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/). The “[m]ore complex, self-conscious emotions, that involve how children feel about themselves—including guilt, envy, pride, shame and embarrassment … come later” (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/ ). Also since my research targets preschool years and environments I found this website concludes that children in the preschool years are mostly able to manage their emotions if they have had “sensitive, responsive caregiving” (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/).

Research that Benefits

Share a positive example of the effects of research on children and/or families.

In my work as an Education Specialist I found that using assessment tools contributed to researching- what was and what was not working in the early childhood classroom. These findings then reinforced what was working, and providing information and opportunities for educators to improve their teaching practices and classroom environments. These improvements, plus the pride and self-esteem gleaned from what was going well, benefited the children and the families. The children were more respected, had enriched environments, varied and enriched learning opportunities, and had enhanced social emotional growth opportunities. The families who were aware of these enriched experiences and ever changing improvements also had a sense of pride and connection to their children. The two assessment tools I found value in using were the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) for PreK and Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS).

My Personal Research Journey

How does emotional stress in early childhood affects the development of positive emotions in adulthood?

This chosen topic changes slightly, more so the wording of it, each time I revisit it. This is because it is a broad topic and constantly needs to be narrowed.  I have chosen this topic because early childhood (prenatal through age 5 (tentatively)) are the formative years. They create the major blue print of who we are and will become and how we respond to  …. I dare say….possibly…. everything… ? I am truly curious about this topic because there is a reason why adults act, behave, respond, feel, etc. the way they do. I have reasons to believe that how children are provided care and education has a direct effect on how they continue to development and create positive feelings, emotions, and regard for themselves and others. What are we doing as adults and as a collective set of people to foster positive emotional growth and to counteract emotional stress triggered by tragedies, abuse and misunderstandings?

Final Blog Assignment: Issues & Trends in EC

This video is from Save the Children, the international organization that I have been following for this course (www.savethechildren.org). This documentary is moving. It provides us a glimpse of  issues and trends that we have been studying in this course. It also sparks insights on the importance of early childhood education.

 

Three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field for my professional and personal developmetn are these: self reflection on my work and dedication to the field, changing my professional goals to work more closely with families and children instead of on the sidelines hoping for change, and to reach out internationally for support, ideas and answers in this field.

 

A significant goal for international awareness is to unite and use the many organizations that have the same goals for the children, specifically bringing education and support to those families and children in poverty. 

 





Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

UNESCO’s “Early Childhood Care and Education” webpage (http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/) writes on the first International Day of the Girl Child, they speculate 32 million girls who should be in primary grades are not attending primary school. They hope to break the vicious cycle of abuse, discrimination and inequality that girls across the world. UNESCO recognizes that also this abuse keeps “communities and societies from sustainable development”.

It is not often that the discrimination of girls gets continual attention. The discrimination of females tends to be brushed aside in many areas of the world. Why is this so?

Getting to Know Your International Contacts Part 2

Of the many studies on the importance of early childhood, one specific finding is that early learning impacts development and the primary grades. These positive outcomes include children of varying abilities and many cultures; early learning benefits all children. Following the importance of early learning is the actual quality of the learning process and/or environment. Assessment strategies and tools are starting to take place in early learning centers to reflect these positive outcomes on our children, then ideally will inturn increase government budgets for early childhood education. As preschool teachers it is important that we stay cognizant of our teaching practices, assessment strategies and learning outcomes in our classroom because it is ultimately for the children and the future of early learning.

Teachers College, Columbia University. (2009). Early childhood care and education: Worlwide challenges and progress. Current Issues in Comparative Education, 11, 1–44. Retrieved from http://www.tc.columbia.edu/cice/Issues/11.00/PDFs/11_Complete_Issue.pdf

Getting to know international contacts-part 1

“Over 600 million children world-wide live in absolute poverty - an estimated 1 in 4” (www.childhoodpoverty.org). This is the same estimation of the poverty in the United States. In the U.S., according to Save the Children, nearly 1 in 4 children American children live in poverty (http://www.savethechildren.org/).

“Poverty experienced by children, even over short periods, can affect the rest of their lives” ” (www.childhoodpoverty.org). This why the early childhood programs that are available for children and families in poverty need to stay active and strong (check out my video bar and the bottom of this page- Head Start’s window of opportunity).

“Today's poor children are all too often tomorrow's poor parents” (www.childhoodpoverty.org). It is hard to imagine as we think and plan for the present that our young children do become adults, and do have a place in society. It is our responsibility in aiding the evolution process of our families and society. My 10 year old son shared a quote with me yesterday, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”. By failing to prepare (nutrition, nurture, support, spirituality, education, etc.) our children…